How long is it going to take for the birds to start eating these? I've had them out for a couple of weeks now. Our house is bird central. We have bluebirds, chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers, orioles, you name it. I have yet to see a bird eat one of these. They have even landed on the dish they are in and ignored them. Did I get a bad bag or what??? I should note - my main reason for trying these is to keep the orioles around longer. They eat the grape jelly like crazy in May but then once they nest and have their babies I rarely see them again. I have read they will feed these to their young so I put one dish right by the jelly feeder and another by our seed feeder and bird bath for the blue birds. How long is it going to take for the birds to start eating these? I've had them out for a couple of weeks now. Our house is bird central. We have bluebirds, chickadees, cardinals,... » Read More How long is it going to take for the birds to start eating these? I've had them out for a couple of weeks now. Our house is bird central. We have bluebirds, chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers, orioles, you name it. I have yet to see a bird eat one of these. They have even landed on the dish they are in and ignored them. Did I get a bad bag or what??? I should note - my main reason for trying these is to keep the orioles around longer. They eat the grape jelly like crazy in May but then once they nest and have their babies I rarely see them again. I have read they will feed these to their young so I put one dish right by the jelly feeder and another by our seed feeder and bird bath for the blue birds. « Show Less
3694
If you are currently placing these in their own dish, try adding them to the bird seed in your regular feeders. I put these in a tray feeder with a bird seed mix and several species of birds come and eat them; Scrub Jays, Wrens, English Sparrows, Cowbirds, Song Sparrows, etc. When I tried segregating specific food items (even live mealworms) in small dishes or cups in the past, the birds seemed leery of them and wouldn't touch them.
3695
That is kind of weird. I have seen my cardinals, wrens and chickadees eat these. It took them a couple of days to figure it out. You might try soaking them to soften them up a bit, I read that somewhere, although I see another person here says they won't eat them if they are wet. Also, I mostly feed these in the winter.
3696
Hi Amy,We only give these to laying hens, so I have no idea what other birds would think of them. I will say when I trough a bunch to the chickens they go after them in about 1/2 a second.
3697
Hi, Amy. Good luck with the dried meal worms. We can't keep enough in he feeder during the cold months into early spring. We have noticed a slow down, but they still disappear in a couple of days. If you are a little more adventerous, try LIVE meal worms. The birds go nuts for these. The drawback is that they have to be kept in the fridge but if you're OK with that...a tupperware container with strips of news paper and some holes in the lid works just great. Bluebirds are our biggest consumers but other birds frequently stop by for a snack. Best wishes and good luck!!! alan in MA
3698
Hi, Amy. They don't smell really good (the worms) but we started making a lot of bluebirds happy in a matter of days. If they get wet, dump them and start fresh. I noticed that the birds won't touch them if they are not dry and fresh. The Bluebirds are the only ones that eat them in our yard...but Bluebirds are scarce around here so we're very please they have adopted our yard. We had 5 babies already in the Bluebird house and 2 more eggs are there now. Anyway, don't give up just yet. Oh, we have noticed a drop in the number of the worms eaten since the relly warm weather. During the early spring (Massachusetts) we had to fill the little dish 3 times a day. Best of luck. Alan Hi, Amy. They don't smell really good (the worms) but we started making a lot of bluebirds happy in a matter of days. If they get wet, dump them and start fresh. I noticed that the birds won't touch them if they are not dry and fresh. The Bluebirds are the only ones that eat them in our yard...but Bluebirds are scarce around here so we're very please they have adopted our yard. We had 5 babies already in the Bluebird house and 2 more eggs are there now. Anyway, don't give up just yet. Oh, we have noticed a drop in the number of the worms eaten since the relly warm weather. During the... » Read More Hi, Amy. They don't smell really good (the worms) but we started making a lot of bluebirds happy in a matter of days. If they get wet, dump them and start fresh. I noticed that the birds won't touch them if they are not dry and fresh. The Bluebirds are the only ones that eat them in our yard...but Bluebirds are scarce around here so we're very please they have adopted our yard. We had 5 babies already in the Bluebird house and 2 more eggs are there now. Anyway, don't give up just yet. Oh, we have noticed a drop in the number of the worms eaten since the relly warm weather. During the early spring (Massachusetts) we had to fill the little dish 3 times a day. Best of luck. Alan « Show Less
309924
Go to your favorite store and buy Ultra song bird seed. The birds will eat it all up pretty quickly. It's not the feeder.
2083174
Of the birds mentioned, I have only seen cardinals (occasionally) and finches using mine. I get finches of all kinds, titmice, chickadees, downy woodpeckers and some sparrows. Blackbirds haven't been a problem, but I don't get any bluebirds. (I'm not near a meadow.)
1329813
I wondered that, myself, at first, but for the sake of my birds I persevered. It's not really that bad. These are not live worms, they are basically freeze dried little things, so they are lightweight and don't put up a fight. I just pour a little bit in a cup and put in my feeder each day. They do smell a little musty if you stick your nose close, so just don't do that. I made my own feeder for these out of an old Frisbee. Birds who love them: bluebirds, Carolina wren, catbird, chickadee. My cousin feeds her birds live mealworms...I don't think I could do that, so these are perfect.
1537794
Mr & Mrs Cardinal were eating black sunflower seeds from these and also sunflower hearts. They were also feeding their babies who waited on the rail below the feeder. The cardinals also liked the suet that we supplied. We have doves but they stayed away from these feeders. We have no pigeons here.
1926481
Humming birds access the nectar through the holes. We also have downy woodpeckers who share the bounty the same way. There is a different feeder for orioles.
271805
There could be all kinds of reason for birds coming and going on feeders. But the best thing to do is make sure your nyjer is fresh. Nyjer is a tiny seed that tends to dry out quickly, so you want to always have a fresh supply in your feeders. Otherwise, there are times when you may have many birds and then other times you may not. Don't worry, they'll be back. But if you have a very prolonged period of no birds, try moving the feeder. Hope that helps and good luck with your birds!
654322
I have never had Cardinals to nest near my house. I started feeding them in the winter so they hung around until Spring. I put my box up late and had Cardinals nest on a low limb in the next tree beside my box. Odd that you asked, but Robins are also hanging around and are nesting near there but not in the box. It is still empty as of yet.
420868
Interesting problem. I use a all purpose wild bird food. The two that I've found work best are Scott's Year Round Wild Bird Food and Scott's Songbird Selections Wild Bird Food Multi Bird Blend (The cardinals especially like this one). I have also had good results with Morning Song Year Round Wild Bird Food. To attract more cardinals, I put extra black oil sunflower seeds in the mix. I hope this helps.
331716
I don't remember how long it took my two cockatiels to find the food but I don't think very long. Have all other feeder dishes been removed from their cages? I hope they go to the new one, it is a great feeding dish. Good luck. By the way, my two cockatiels are in separate cages, maybe that has something to do with it. Just a guess.
2219772
We still have not had an action, in the birdhouse. I have read that it takes time and that it may take over a year for the birds to get in? We set up feeders and a bird bath, but still no luck.
2004485
It doesn't seem to be a problem-the birds eat it fairly quick and usually I am refilling within 5-7 days. It is quite comical to watch a squirrel that got a hold of some treated seeds. He will jump, run in circles, dig and eat the dirt to get rid of the taste, etc and then take off.
1886501
There are two reasons I wouldn't mix with other seeds. The first is that these worms are very fragile, and I think they would be crushed by the weight and movement of seeds. The second is, birds love these, and they would quickly be gobbled up by any mockingbirds or jays in your area. I first used the bell feeder, which is a great way to get the word out that they are available. Then I moved to a gourd type feeder. The small size of the hole limits feeders to wren or bluebird size. The best looking gourds at the best price that I have found is hernsberger gourds on e-bay. Just look up birdhouse gourds and you will find that site. There are two reasons I wouldn't mix with other seeds. The first is that these worms are very fragile, and I think they would be crushed by the weight and movement of seeds. The second is, birds love these, and they would quickly be gobbled up by any mockingbirds or jays in your area. I first used the bell feeder, which is a great way to get the word out that they are available. Then I moved to a gourd type feeder. The small size of the hole limits feeders to wren or bluebird size. The best looking gourds at the best price that I have found is hernsberger gourds on e-bay. Just look up... » Read More There are two reasons I wouldn't mix with other seeds. The first is that these worms are very fragile, and I think they would be crushed by the weight and movement of seeds. The second is, birds love these, and they would quickly be gobbled up by any mockingbirds or jays in your area. I first used the bell feeder, which is a great way to get the word out that they are available. Then I moved to a gourd type feeder. The small size of the hole limits feeders to wren or bluebird size. The best looking gourds at the best price that I have found is hernsberger gourds on e-bay. Just look up birdhouse gourds and you will find that site. « Show Less
1619427
To get birds to come to a feeder takes a lot of different thing to happen. The first is the birds have to feel safe as they can, they have to have a quick place to fly to like a bush or tree to land in. It can take months for a new feeder to have bird come to in all the time. There should be a place for the bird to get water some place around the area. The kind of bird food makes some difference but not a lot. Make sure you drop seed on the ground because some birds do not eat out of feeders they only eat off the ground. Put some old bread pieces on the ground with the seed. Keep the killer cat away. Happy birding! To get birds to come to a feeder takes a lot of different thing to happen. The first is the birds have to feel safe as they can, they have to have a quick place to fly to like a bush or tree to land in. It can take months for a new feeder to have bird come to in all the time. There should be a place for the bird to get water some place around the area. The kind of bird food makes some difference but not a lot. Make sure you drop seed on the ground because some birds do not eat out of feeders they only eat off the ground. Put some old bread pieces on the ground with the seed. Keep the killer... » Read More To get birds to come to a feeder takes a lot of different thing to happen. The first is the birds have to feel safe as they can, they have to have a quick place to fly to like a bush or tree to land in. It can take months for a new feeder to have bird come to in all the time. There should be a place for the bird to get water some place around the area. The kind of bird food makes some difference but not a lot. Make sure you drop seed on the ground because some birds do not eat out of feeders they only eat off the ground. Put some old bread pieces on the ground with the seed. Keep the killer cat away. Happy birding! « Show Less
1824031
Hi Felix, if they are, we've never even noticed. They visit for a short time while grabbing a seed. If they stay for lots of seeds, we've had no problems. Good product. The cardinal pictured on the website is smaller than ours.
331722
I don't know. My 2 cockatiels started eating the second I put the feeder in the cage. Are the birds tame, maybe put some feed in your hand close to the feeder. Good luck. I also have 7 parakeets that eat out of the feeders.
802858
We have some grackles who are persistent, but they are too large to perch AND eat. The perch is too short for their big bodies. Mostly we have purple finches and a few cardinals. We hang suit squares for woodpeckers, bluejays, and starlings. The doves and pigeons hang out at the bottom of the feeders and catch the seeds that drop. The squirrels have never been able to feed there. We sometimes throw peanuts out the window for jays and squirrels and grackles. We like them all.